Knife Selection Assistance

My husband is a line cook in charge of cold prep at his restaurant and will be graduating culinary school next month. He’s been using a set of Henkels (I think...or some other standard kitchen knives sold at Kohls) and has been talking about getting better knives for work. I’m planning on surprising him with two or three really good knives for a graduation gift. After doing some research, I’ve settled on a Masakage Koishi santoku and gyuto. I’m also considering getting him a third.

Would the 240 mm or the 270 mm gyuto be a better choice? He’s mentioned wanting to upgrade from the 8” chef knife he currently has to a 10” but the 240 is smaller than the 10” while the 270 is larger. Not sure which to pick. Or, should I get him both so he has a choice? Or maybe a 210 and a 270? If I don’t get two gyutos, is there another knife in addition to the gyuto and santoku that you’d recommend for him that might be useful for his work?

I appreciate any thoughts and recommendations!

270mm gyuto should be a good choice if he's moving on to a euro style 10" chef knife. The gyuto is much more nimble and light and thus, a 270mm would be a good replacement 10" chef knife.

Also, I would probably skip getting a Santoku and looking into a long petty (180mm or 210mm) for pro use.

I'd skip the santoku unless he has requested it and go with a 240 and 270...maybe a petty ~180?

I would also suggest a stainless steel knife for the line depending how busy he will be. I prefer when on the line to have a stainless steel knife just for the ease of maintenance and peace of mind. suisin inox honyaki would be my suggestion.

Cheeks1989 said:

I would also suggest a stainless steel knife for the line depending how busy he will be. I prefer when on the line to have a stainless steel knife just for the ease of maintenance and peace of mind. suisin inox honyaki would be my suggestion.

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The Masakage Koishi knives are carbon steel clad in stainless to prevent rusting. Would that still be an issue?

Auriana said:

The Masakage Koishi knives are carbon steel clad in stainless to prevent rusting. Would that still be an issue?

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The steel they are made from is Aogami Super, one of the best steels as regards edge retention (what could be quite useful in a busy pro kitchen) and as far as I can remember comments regarding eventual rusting, its also no problem...

And where are you from? It could help regarding the recommendation...If you are located in US, for instance the stainless clad Kochi (http://www.japaneseknifeimports.com...-kurouchi-stainless-clad-carbon-wa-gyuto.html) could be an excellent option, the Kochi line is considered a great performer by many experienced KKF members..And the V2 steel is also quite unreactive once patina is build, so rusting wouldn't also be any problem...And I quite sure that's even a better performer than that Masakage...althought thats a good knife as well...And you could easily buy some 180 or 210 petty next to it if eventually ordering from that website - for instance from the Gesshin Ginga line, both the 180 mm and 210 mm petties are currently in stock...and they are also loved by many experienced people here...

240mm gyuto, 150mm petty and an 75-90mm petty would be of the most useful sizes.

I'll put my two cents in.

1 - The Masakage Koishi and Kochi have the traditional Japanese handles which may or may not be to your husband's liking;

2 - Sad to say, nice looking knives have a habit of walking off in a busy restaurant setting;

3 - Some health inspectors consider wooden handled knives as unsanitary.

Might I suggest you consider the Gesshin Kagero gyuto and matching petty from Japanese Knife Imports? A huge step up from Henckels, they don't scream "Steal me!", no worries about rusting and exceptional edge retention.

http://www.japaneseknifeimports.com...esshin-kagero-240mm-powdered-steel-gyuto.html

Rick